Wind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, generator, gearbox, nacelle, and one or more rotor blades. The rotor blades capture kinetic energy of wind using known airfoil principles. The rotor blades transmit the kinetic energy in the form of rotational energy so as to turn a shaft coupling the rotor blades to a gearbox, or if a gearbox is not used, directly to the generator. The generator then converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy that may be deployed to a utility grid.
As the sizes of wind turbines generally increase, the towers of the wind turbines may be modified to accommodate these increases. For example, as the tower height increases, it is common to provide a tower formed from a plurality of horizontal segments stacked vertically atop one another. In addition, the tower may also be segmented into one or more vertical tower segments such that the diameter of the tower can be increased as well. As such, the tower segments can be manufactured in a facility, transported to a wind turbine site, and then joined together to form the tower. Accordingly, the wind turbine tower segments can be designed to fit within standard shipping dimensions so as to minimize the cost of transporting such segments to the wind turbine site, while also allowing for towers with increased heights.
As it is known in the art to divide the tower into one or more horizontal and/or vertical segments depending on the required dimensions of the tower and shipping limitations, the art is continuously seeking new and improved joint assemblies for securing such segments together.